Theresa Smith

In 1980, the life of 15-year-old Theresa Smith was violently cut short inside her own home in Newark, Ohio. The murder of the young girl left her family and community devastated, beginning a long and painful search for answers. For years, the investigation into who killed Theresa and why remained stagnant, with no significant leads or suspects emerging.

As time passed, Theresa’s case grew cold. Decades went by without an arrest, and the hope of finding justice seemed to diminish with each passing year. For over 40 years, the crime remained a haunting local mystery, a profound loss for a family that was left with no closure.

Then, in February 2022, an unexpected development brought the case back into public focus. Journalist Grace Kahng, along with a team of investigators, publicly alleged that they had identified a possible suspect in Theresa’s murder. The man they named was John Getreu, whose past was already marked by extreme violence.

At the time he was linked to Theresa's case, Getreu was an elderly man already serving a life sentence in prison. In September 2021, he had been found guilty of a different murder and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. He was set to stand trial for another homicide in late 2022.

Despite the public identification of Getreu as a person of interest, no charges have been filed against him in connection with Theresa Smith's death. As of February 2022, her murder officially remains unsolved.